Ubuntu will officially be the first Linux distribution offered by Dell

Once Dell confirmed that it would offer the Linux operating system on select PCs in the future, Linux enthusiasts anxiously awaited the announcement of which Linux distributions would be offered. Dell today announced that it would preinstall the Ubuntu operating system on some PC and notebook models.

Along with appealing to popular demand, the computer company will likely save money by stripping out the cost of purchasing the operating system license from Microsoft. It appears that OS support would be provided by the open source and Linux communities, while Dell would exclusively provide hardware support.

Michael Dell previously disclosed that he has Ubuntu installed on his personal laptop.

Dell has not announced models, configurations or prices of PCs and notebooks that will feature Ubuntu. Dell also did not eliminate the possibility of other Linux distributions being installed on future product lines.

Linux fans hope that Dell embracing Linux will begin a shift in which more PC vendors will switch to open source technology.